Halestorm had been booked to play the Armory back in October, and I was on the fence as to whether I’d go or not. I ended up deciding not to, and then Lzzy got sick and they cancelled the show. They promised to make up the date, and they certainly did make it up to us, bringing their co-headlining run with Stone Sour. I didn’t “hesitate” to grab a ticket this time around! It had been quite awhile since I’d seen either of these bands, and funny enough, they were on the same bill last time too – Uproar at Darien Lake in August of 2010 In the ensuing 7+ years, Halestorm had released two more albums and handful of covers EP’s, and Stone Sour had put out three more albums. Needless to say I was due to see both. Late in the game I found out that Scott and Tracy would be attending as well, so having close company all night was great too!

Halestorm was on first, opening with a new song, “Black Vultures”, off their impending new album before cranking into the favorites. For being the last night of this run, Lzzy sounded great, nailing all of the high stuff, and the band was equal to the task. Not that they weren’t seasoned performers by the time I got to see them, but they are a tight operation these days – all killer no filler for sure. To my ears, the set selection was great, playing everything I would have wanted to hear, including Love Bites, It’s Not You, I Get Off, I Miss The Misery, etc. They had been playing their version of Whitesnake’s “Still Of The Night”, but we didn’t get it on this night. No matter, their own stuff is more than enough to sustain a set. Good stuff all the way around.

Black Vultures
Love Bites (So Do I)
It’s Not You
Mz. Hyde
The Reckoning
I Am the Fire
Amen
Unapologetic
Someone Like You (Adele Cover)
Dear Daughter
Apocalyptic [w/ drum solo]
I Get Off
Freak Like Me
Mayhem
I Miss the Misery

Black Vultures

Someone Like You / Dear Daughter

Mayhem

One set change later, Stone Sour closed the show. It’s still funny/surreal/interesting to see Corey Taylor be the full-on rock star guy fronting Stone Sour as opposed to the masked madman in Slipknot. He’s great at it to be sure, and as a small example of this gave the city a nod by wearing a House of Guitars shirt during the set. They started out with a two-song run (three if you include the YSIF tape intro) from the new Hydrograd album before continuing on a yo-yo type set of one heavy, one lighter, one heavy, one lighter. Made of Scars into Say You’ll Haunt Me, then 30/30-150 into Hesitate. The set was absolutely tailored to the Halestorm crowd, as they played all the lighter radio hits, and not a thing from the first self-titled album. There was enough other heavy stuff to keep it interesting (Do Me A Favor, Absolute Zero), and I enjoyed hearing Tired, but I could have used more heavy. Regardless, the band sounded fine, Corey sounded good, and I had a great time through both sets. Song selection aside, I had no real complaints about either set – just the usual Armory complaints about lack of parking, and the impossibly long line to get in every time. That never changes.